The Beauty of the Aurora in Western New York!

I would have rather loved to seeing the northern lights in Spain but we haven't been there since 2018! I probably have a huge hill of old mail and dust awaiting my return to my apartment! 

I'm currently waiting for a 24-240mm Sony lens and it would have been very well-used last night. Instead I took my only wide full-frame 20-70 lens and that was luckily adequate for the whole show. I would have been happier with a lens just a hair wider, and thought of taking the very sharp and lightweight Sony fisheye adapter though that would not fit onto the lens I took!

Looking across Lake Ontario to Toronto at left

         

All the people amazed with the celestial event!

                          

The structures of Old Fort Niagara under the aurora

I even turned my camera to the south, snapping this image of the aurora over the bright Moon!

On the way home, we stopped at the Youngstown NY yacht club waterfront. 

Below and above images created while at the Youngstown NY yacht club waterfront

Again it was still easy to see the aurora, again with streetlights glaring and eyes again totally unadjusted to the darkness....  or rather, the brightness of the aurora! 

After the fact and looking at the Space Weather webpage hours later, again, I think it was so awesome that unknowingly, we had arrived at our selected viewing area of Fort Niagara during its peak levels; it apparently was almost a KP9, which is the highest it can get!! When we arrived at the fort, even with UNadjusted eyes to the darkness, I could see the lights faintly, through my three times operated-on eyes!!

Over the years the wife and I have discussed going somewhere where we could be guaranteed easy viewing of the aurora borealis... Iceland which is fairly "close" to us, and northern Norway, where even my brother has been now to view the dazzling colorful displays! 

Have you seen the northern lights yet?

Who can resist the Beauty of Trees?

There's a lot of gorgeous Trees in western New York....  heck, I've seen a lot of gorgeous Trees in my travels but still, Trees are a sight to see! 

Do you love Trees too? I just can't hug a Tree....  my many allergies causing me to be sneezing year-round, plus I despise insects and ants!

All of these fabulous Trees can be enjoyed on the grounds of the fabulous Niagara Falls State Park! Really! In some of the pictures, you can see parts of Niagara Falls, Ontario, Canada in the background!

Killing Time at the Falls of Niagara

Just a few memories while at the Falls to enjoy the fireworks. For the past two weeks we have been returning to the Falls and recording the fireworks from different spots. Of course we have our favorite spots...  less people. Quieter. No problem with parking. Good security. BUT to get to other spots ain't a bad thing either!

 

Riding [a PORTiON] of the Erie Canal

 Recently during a not misty smoky day, our eBikes took us to the Erie Canal near Pendleton, New York for a short ride. We have always wanted to ride alongside the Erie Canal but to do so takes determination. It's a looong ride. Even on a short ride as we did, there isn't much to see of the canal but Trees bushes and clouds! Really!

The best views of the canal are while in canal cities and towns, or by the small bridges that cross the canal.

If riding the canal for a short distance as we did, there's not much of the canal to see. But the Erie Canal remains an important landmark of New York State history, and a part of western New York's history also, as it begins just north of Buffalo in the Tonawandas!

Here's a memory of our folding 16" eBikes parked next to a very tiny portion of the Erie Canal. 

Not seen in this image are the many mosquitos

 

The Beauty of WNY Wildlife

 We were out again to escape the constant updates to our new home, and decided to go to a very popular and busy nature preserve in Buffalo where a Roseate Spoonbill had been sighted. We departed early and spent the better part of the day there....  over five hours there in the light rain, clouds and finally the sun broke through. Saw a bunch of birds which were the normal, but no spoonbill. Many others seemed to be out with long lenses and binoculars, so guessing we weren't the only ones interested in seeing the spoonbill. We have already seen spoonbills in the wild in SW Spain and in Florida, but spoonbills are a rare occurrence in western New York. Last year there was a wayward Limpkin in the area, and the year before it was a Virginia Rail. 

I kept joking that once we decide to leave, the spoonbill will make its appearance, and we will have missed it. That's exactly how it went: we were actually departing and out of the corner of my eye, saw something of a pinkish color fly in fast and low, then landed not even 42 feet away!

The one thing that always bothers me is that it seems human is such a controlling species. The humans really are the true invasive species of the planet, who have, for centuries and more, just gone any and everywhere, seemingly to explore new lands, but in reality we are now discovering that the true intent was to conquer and enslave other people, steal their treasures, their lands, and if that wasn't enough, humans just wanted to remove others from the planet. 

In addition to that goal, which they've done quite well through the centuries, is their desire to trash and pollute this planet everyone calls home. I haven't been everywhere, but I've been to a few countries, and the one thing I have discovered is the vast amount of trash left by humans everywhere! What is most disturbing is the amount of trash left everywhere, and seemingly, even in the most scenic, beautiful, natural and popular areas will be trashed and polluted the most! Even with plenty of trash bins and signs, humans do as they wish, and their main objective is always the same: to trash the area no matter how beautiful the area is. That doesn't mean that for some area not considered to be the best, should be trashed. THiS is our home: the Earth. There is only one Earth and it's already gone through centuries of pollution on a grand scale. While it's less now, it's still a lot more considering the trashing and pollution of our HOME affects eventually everyone, and all species. 

I have even seen people throw trash on the ground though there's a trash receptacle just a few feet away. It's not the responsibility of others to advise you of your trashing the area; WE should be able to remember that the ground we transit each day is not a garbage pit we think it is no matter where we are. We need to, and should have the common sense and personal responsibility to hold the trash till it can be disposed of properly.

Enjoy your day, week and season, and please remember to not trash our home nor our planet. It reflects on us as a species, and shows everyone what little regard we have for our own home, let alone for other people and species.

Rain Showers means Rainbow Sightings!

We are tired and wanted to escape from moving and getting reorganized again. Whoever thinks moving is fun and reorganzing your Life possessions again is easy, is very welcome to join us! We escaped to Old Fort Niagara on the southern shores of Lake Ontario yesterday, and it turned out to be a good idea as we no sooner than arrive when we saw a rainbow. After that were the fabulous clouds - when aren't clouds fabulous? We look UP often - do you look too?

 

Oooh, the Wonders of Winter Stepping on our Solar Panel and more

Well, yet another snowfall has come and gone, with another within a few days coming again to drop more snow in our area! 

We still have a non-weatherproof folding portable solar panel of 220watts upon our roof. It's been there since late July 2022, so it's been there through many thunderstorms, high winds, and pouring buckets of rain, and still functioning! Now in its first Winter, it's withstood the blizzard of December 2022 in western New York, and many other snowfalls of more than two inches to a max of over a foot, and after the snow is either blown off by high winds, bumped off with a broomstick (as I've been doing for the past weeks), or just melted in the few rare warm sunny day[s], but it's basically been freezing in the 32° freezing temps for several months now with the exception of a few sunny days (thank you very much Mr Sun!), BUT no matter the climate, temperatures or snow, it's given us enough sun power to charge our three solar battery units within a few days each, at the very least. For the past few days, the solar panel had four inches of snow covering it, and was still giving us some wattage!!

Our batteries are from Enginstar [two batteries at 300watts each] and our newest one is the Amproad Epic 300watt battery, which at times, has exceeded the in-wattage amount of our older batteries, from our Dokio 220W solar panel Kit which they call lightweight at 9lbs, but you try putting that up alone on a roof awning! I am contemplating buying a larger capacity battery of at least 1000watts to test powering our refrigerator or other high-wattage appliances. In my few years of being in western New York, we have been extremely fortunate to not have experienced any long-lasting power outages too many times during these snow, rain or windstorms that the area seems to experience a few times each year. Typically there are thousands without power for days or more, while we - knock on wood/toca madera - still have electricity. We won't always be so fortunate, so having a battery on standby to power things is always a good thing!

Right now the exterior awning the solar panel sits on is not angled properly to get enough effective sunpower, though in bright sunny days, we only get an input of upwards of 90watts to the newest battery, and only an average of 60watts for the two older batteries. In a few more weeks when we have a very sunny warm day, I'll get back up to the awning, remove the panel and install a mount so the solar panel will be angled more effectively toward the sun. Having this mount will also keep the panel cooler with an empty space below it, which isn't the case currently. I am hoping the angled mount and air space under the solar panel will both help push the input wattage higher than it currently is!

Otherwise, we really can't complain. For the two older Enginstar 300w batteries, they each have always charged up in hours on a bright summer day, of course longer on overcast days. It's the same with the much newer and very capable Amproad Epic 300watt battery, charging up faster and often at a higher wattage rate than the other two batteries! No matter the weather, we always get some wattage coming in, and as tiny as under ten watts sounds, even that low amount will charge our batteries within 2-3 days! That's still free electricity from the sun!

We are still thinking about buying an electric vehicle (EV) but now it seems current technology will delay our purchase for a number of years, and maybe a decade. It seems there are on-going technology updates that could enable charging an electric vehicle in the same time it would take to charge today's gas cars! That would be incredible of course, as we cannot see ourselves stopping multiple times in a single day of any trip, just to wait for our car to charge in four but likely much more hours while on the road. The technology however will not be available anytime soon, along with a battery solution in the investigative process now, that could possibly power an EV for up to 1000 miles! Imagine having a car battery with enough power to do that! 

Okay, we are waiting, but we aren't young chickens anymore, and we just want our EV before we pass from this world! Maybe in this period of waiting, the technology for an affordable EV would be cost-effective and lower than what the average american EV costs today?

While we are all an "open" society and supporting the car industry of the United States for decades, the car industry is still pricing their cars for million and billionaires! If they want the support of the general public in this race to support the american building and marketing of the electric vehicle of the future in this country, they really need to talk to US: the real true Americans! We - the common people - who work for a living, and still need to have cars of any type at an affordable cost. The car companies need to price cars to sell to us the common folk, not the rich, or you might as well go take your over-priced EVs and try selling them on the Moon, because WE will not buy it. WE supported your industry in the past and you became successful and rich. It's time YOU and your company supported the American people - not the rich only. Give us an electric vehicle we can buy, enjoy, and cherish as we have of all the cars we grew up with, enjoyed, and purchased ourselves.

Price your cars for the working people, the real people of the United States, or YOU will force us to buy from your competing overseas companies producing electric vehicle, that we will purchase....  not because we really want to BUT because you forced us to look at their vehicles instead of American vehicles simply because again, you have priced it out of our budgets, and out of our price range. 

WE never turned our back on you, BUT you are again turning your back on the American people. Now, is that fair? Support us, and the people will support you. Screw us as you have for decades now, and you leave us no choice......  Of course, this is just one person's opinion and words, but don't believe us? Try it, and when your car prices are sky-high, let's see how many you sell in America and see how many WE buy of those brands from outside the USA!

Now, when will my solar battery finish charging on this overcast day?

Frozen in Time and Ice

We went out as the sun was setting [the only color we saw was all grey from our location]. With tripods and despite the chilling cold, we decided to stay a bit longer to snap the floating river ice moving north towards the waterfalls of Niagara Falls New York and of Niagara Falls Ontario Canada which are the buildings visible in this freezing shot.color? Anyone interested in seeing this same scene in color? But booooy, we were freezing out there!

Warm and sunny in western New York!

Again not a recent sunset but just the typical golden sight seen on the upper Niagara year-round. We feel so lucky to be witness to such fabulous displays of color, textures and of the Beauty of Nature. I actually had to tone down the saturation because the golden brightness actually hurt my eyes ~ really!

How are your sunsets where you are?

We were out at the Falls yesterday when I noticed someone littering with a huge trash bin not even three feet from them. I mentioned the litter to them and they looked surprised. I haven't been to many places in this vast world, but I have been to a few places. It seems that all the tourist-popular areas are always littered with even the most basic trash: forks, take-out trays, the very popular trash of cigarette butts....  and of course the dog poop by people who live near a park or green area, and allow their pet to poop without picking up. 

Why are people even trashing the environment, let alone some attraction or scenic viewing area, that's a joy to see unless you look down, and notice the mass amount of trash on the ground? Or have we become so accustomed to trashing our own areas at home, the local store etc, that we no longer think of it and everything just gets dropped/thrown on the ground?

Please folks: if you bring it in, take it out with out. Usually there's a trash bin close to you. Please use it. Please teach your kids to dispose of their trash properly no matter where they are. Encourage and enforce that by being the example they need to see!

Humans: the messiest species of the planet, not only killing their home world but polluting it everyday with even more trash. Like we haven't done enough to destroy the planet and its natural beauty, we have to slowly trash it too!

 

Clouds over the upper Niagara River of WNY

Not recent BUT am just STiLL looking back over the 10000s of image files I've been looking through lately, and it never ends. But one great thing about looking through these hard drives: reLiving the fabulous scenes, clouds, Nature and journeys, and it just never stops!

My Frozen Upper Niagara Moonscape

Another Day has come and gone. Did you know it's been 1195 days since the pandemic began? What I cannot believe is they're saying covid will be around for a loooong time, and will be so common it'll be treated just like the flu. Covid19 is not a flu!!

Went out again today to freeze a little bit more. With the blowing wind, the windchill is down to the low-20s but the temperatures has been like this for many weeks! It's not the coldest I've been out in chilly weather, and probably will not be the last. I am just glad the cameras aren't affected too much by the cold!

This scene is the icy upper Niagara River of western New York again! In previous years, just about ALL of the river is frozen. This is the first Winter I've seen less than half of the river iced over. 

Doesn't this lower portion look like a moonscape?

 

 

 

 

 

Just love the upper Niagara River in the Winter!

Another Sunny Day with Blue Skies, plus other thoughts!

BUT those blue skies were just patches of blue, though that sun did feel good, but there was little heat from the sun as the winds were blowing so the windchill was an average of 10 degrees BELoW freezing!!

I delighted in seeing the Canada Geese flying as usual but then a flock of swans flew by to their favorite destination about a mile up the river. 

How's the wildlife where you are? 

With Valentine's Day coming up, I've been wondering about the various places and eateries struggling to get our attention and business. What I want to know is WHY after all the hype, the medical reviews and suggestions given, do restaurants and other eateries still offer their clientele foods that will most likely either kill them soon, give them medical problems within a short time, or worst: make them so unhealthy, that even walking will with difficulty, if at all! 

Why does the american foods business care only serving unhealthy foods that will promote a lot of business in a few years, to the medical system? Does the restaurant and food service industry even care about my and your health? I guess that is a resounding NO, but it seems their message to the clients is to continue coming in to keep us in business before you start to get sick and die! When I go out to eat, I always look through the fatty and junk food listed in the menu, and it seems these days the only alternative for me at my not-young age, is to eat seafood, and most of the time it's fried! So, it's salmon again! Have you also noticed that IF vegetables are served, it's a tiny amount - so small that even a squirrel would be starving! Vegetables are so minimal in cost, it should be the food item on their menu that has the bigger font type and size, not to mention when served, it should be a huge amount!

Icy but Populated Upper Niagara River

Yesterday we were blessed with a fairly decent day with even visible splashes of blue sky! BUT the clouds were gooorgeous! How were the clouds in your area? Just mouse-over with your cursor over the image to see which image was snapped with my phone or the camera!

Today the upper Niagara River of western New York was still whitish with a lot of ice passing through, along with those ice donuts I enjoy seeing! Lots of Canada Geese in the area above and below, along with Common Mergansers and more in the river during these cold winter months!

Ice Donuts of the upper Niagara

Have you ever seen these? Seen first while in Norway. Now I can say I've seen these in the USA! Caused by pieces of ice in the river streams or water where there's water in motion. As the water freezes, it'll spin in the current to eventually appear as these floating ice discs! Very cool! There's never one that looks exactly like another! Really!

Western New York Storms

I've been reliving my past histories around the world and seeing great hot weather, cold and rainy locations, and of course a lot of stormy conditions that I didn't mind at all - during those younger years - getting out into and splashing around!

Now in the current life on the East Coast, the memories of those vast and varied weather come to light, as the past mixes with the present. Does this happen to you too, when an event, a moment, or even clouds can spark a sweet (or not) memory for you? 

Here's a memory in the recent past, snapped as the pandemic was beginning. 

https://fineartamerica.com/featured/strike-one-at-grand-island-ny-fototaker-tony-lost-at-night.html

I just cannot resist the color, mystery, danger and beauty of a thunderstorm!

Still Charging up our Life and our Devices via Solar Power

It's been a while. Always too busy with our photography and it gets busier by the day. It's gotten to the point when we go out for the sunset, I'll not take a camera while Sheila will take hers. I'll have my SSG A50 so IF it's impressive and awesome, I can record the moment. The other day we were at the sunset and not only did I not take the camera, the phone was at home too!

About two years ago we picked up a small 21 watt folding solar panel. Yes, that small! We just wanted something small, light, and functional to use on our many trips around the area able to charge our phones and other devices while on the road.

The pandemic changed all that! BUT we still have it and just started using it again. In fact, it's inside our home and stuck to the window that's getting some good sunlight, and charging Sheila's phone. We recently picked up two more: A DOKIO 220W Solar Panel and a few days later a LIPOWER 100W Solar Panel. Both are portable and both fold its four panels into a compact size. We also picked up a 300watt Pure Sine Wave EnginStar Portable Power Station/Battery, and we have been charging that with either one of the two solar panels, while the 21w original one is right now serving as a functional backup. We've been both charging the solar battery with great results, and while the output from the solar panels isn't really high, it is charging! Using the fully charged solar battery everyday and charging it is an interesting project but a worthwhile investment into the future of solar power. So far we have solar power our 52" Sony flat screen TV, living room LED lights, yesterday an older model HP laptop, and more. If nothing else, seeing the wattage used in real-time really opens eyes as to how much we really use and are so dependent on elecrricity in this modern age! 

Are you solar charging your life too?

I will update this in the coming days.

Still alive into the New Year

I can barely believe we are into the 21st century, and now already into 2022! WoW!!

Sheila and I are well - thank goodness - and we still wear a mask at the ready hanging around our necks. That way we know the masks are readily available and easy to begin wearing; all we need to do is pull the mask up and viola, we are protected!

It's been a "mild" Winter in western New York, with little or no snowfall at all during the period of Autumn's end till the end of 2021. Though the Winter here was cold - it's been freezing even through the Autumn, it was eventually record-breaking snowfall in the area, though the highest snowfall fell close to the end of December and into January. In a normal area Winter, we'll get regular snowfall most every week, and the records show that in a regular Winter, we get an average of 63" of snow. This current Winter we got just a few snowfalls that started at the end of December and continued into January, but that amount we got in those few snowfalls totalled over 80"!! WoW!!

Yes, as you can guess, we got out into the snow to get a few snaps. Of course! Winter is absolutely a thrill to see and get out into, and though it's just a very few times I've lived in a snowy location, it is always nice. Last Winter of 2020-2021, I got what I thought was a bit of frostbite on both feet though the left foot was affected more. That kinda "healed" slowly and all was "well" by August. This current Winter the signs of frostbite returned - going out into the snow didn't help at all, and after having my poor black and blue feet almost healed, I had thought, but still looked as bad as it was almost a year earlier! My feet were seen by a foot doctor in early February, who did not say it wasn't frostbite, but didn't say it was. The doctor also pointed out a foot problem with both feet, probably attributed to my wearing sockless and archless footwear for a few years. I was then fitted with custom insoles for my shoes, and amazingly enough, though I've been using that new arch for just a few weeks, the arch and foot problem is healing quicker than I would have imagined! I started with those zero arch shoes about a decade ago, going from very thin and flat running shoes, and eventually moving up to flat archless hiking shoes. Though I felt NO pain in the arches of both feet, it eventually gave me problems that - though I never thought it was major - caused enough problems for me to see a doctor, and I am glad I finally did!

I remember the first year I began wearing those flat archless shoes while living on the West Coast. I took those shoes to Spain, where I have a few friends nearby my location in SW Spain who run on a regular basis, and they all stared at those flat shoes I wore, and warned of pain and bad arches! As I mentioned before, I've never experienced pain, but unknown to me, the problems were apparently building up! I haven't wore those flat shoes in many years, but am now feeling the distress of having worn them!! Beware!!

Otherwise, life is going as well as can be expected. We are grateful to be well during these past years, and I think good health should never be taken for granted. Hoping you and yours will remain safe, and till the next time!

    The river ice is nearly gone and daytime temps are warmer, Can't wait till Spring!

Upper Niagara River Sunsets

 Are sometimes just the best and most colorful!! Don't believe me? Is this not a wonderfully golden and unique sunset?

Lightning Strikes

Last night was a light show of sorts, and the very best type: Nature put on this show just for me (okay, not just for me but it felt like it since it seemed I was the only fool outside for an hour in the hail, wind, rain and coolness!).

I have tried almost all my life behind a viewfinder, trying to capture two subjects: meteors and lightning. In 2016 I succeeded in getting the meteors and now surprisingly, I catch them easily!

Lightning on the other hand, has been elusive still, till a night ago when a long line of severe thunderstorms began moving into western new York. We were watching the 11pm news as usual, and then began the weather forecast, and it was then when I thought it would be the best time ever for a lucky night of lightning! I hurried to dress, grabbed the camera and a bag to cover it with, and walked quickly to the riverside to set up and try my luck once again!

I've known since the last century that the wind picks up once rain falls somewhere. That started up as soon as I stepped outside. It hailed for a while, then continued on and off of pouring rain while I was busy exposing my virtual film!

There were also quite a few times I'd be blinded by a white flash! I figure a strong lightning had just hit somewhere, and sure enuff, when I looked at the images later, I had quite a few frames that were close to, or completely white! So sign of a bolt on film but I know it's probably in there hidden in the whiteness somewhere!

BUT my life-long goal in capturing one of those lightning flashes has finally succeeded, as I ended up with a few lucky images!

But I also enjoyed my time out in the darkness, as there wasn't a second when the sky was NOT lit up with bright flashes hidden by thick clouds, and later as the clouds seemed to thin out, I could finally see the fabulous lightning lighting up my sky for some time that night!

What a splendid light show!!!! Did you see it in your area?

Stay safe and masked on this Day 106 of the New York state pandemic!!

Looking west toward Grand Island, New York

The flashes of lightning was without end but gorgeous!

Always great to see Nature at work!!

Foggy Day at the southern Bridge

It's a special time when you wake to fog. I love seeing and being in the fog. I can remember days of fog when I was a wee-lad in North Beach. Back in those days, San Francisco had as much fog in winter as it did in summer, but not these days!

 

It's the summer that gets the fog the most...  whether you are smart or dumb, and no matter what others may think or say: climates of the planet are drastically changing. Don't believe the rhetoric of climate change? In the last century (do you remember the 1900s?), you could look at maps and see snow covering the northernmost countries: Canada, Greenland, Iceland and most of Russia, and other countries. Look at google maps now and see how much GREEN is visible. Yes, that ice has melted away. Within a few more decades, or even sooner, you'll see waterfronts of the world disappearing under rising water levels.

Like it or not, mankind created "Progress" and now this progress and industrial pollution will cover most of the world in water. Not to mention that this planet can only support so many mouths.

Sure, you don't care now. Wait till YOU are affected: fires, earthquakes, more hurricanes that are bigger and more deadly....  you name it, it's coming, and everyone on this planet will be affected! Extreme and severe temperatures throughout the planet that kill the crops. Fish are dying in water that is too warm. 

The "Future" of manKind doesn't look too bright right now!